B.P.’s Outlook – Patrol Leaders

THE best progress is made in those Troops where power and responsibility are really put into the hands of the Patrol Leaders. It is the secret of success with many Scoutmasters, when once they have half-a-dozen Patrol Leaders, really doing their work as if they were Assistant Scoutmasters. The Scoutmasters find themselves able to go on and increase the size of their Troops by starting new Patrols or adding recruits to existing ones.Expect a great deal of your Patrol Leaders and nine times out of ten they will play up to your expectation; but if you are going always to nurse them and not to trust them to do things well, you will never get them to do anything on their own initiative.

June, 1910.

At this week’s Troop meeting I counted eight active Assistant Scoutmasters. Following B.P.’s advice we often have comparatively little to do. We do little instructing (perhaps two or three times in the past year) and next to no program planning. All of these things are in the firm grip of our youth leadership.

So what did we do? Three are working hard on recruiting, one is following the progress of several Eagle projects and applications, I was meeting with a visiting Webelos parent, and the remainder were observing the proceedings from a respectful distance.

About Clarke Green

Clarke has worked with thousands of Scouts and Scouters as a director at his local Scout Camp (Camp Horseshoe), and as a Scoutmaster for 30 years. He is the recipient of a number of awards recognizing his service to Scouting, including the B.S.A.’s Silver Beaver, District Award of Merit, and is a Vigil Honor member of Octoraro Lodge 22. He is author of the blog and podcast at Scoutmastercg.com, The Scouting Journey, and Thoughts on Scouting. An avid outdoorsman and amateur actor, he lives in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania with his wife Teddi.

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